Saturday, October 22, 2011

Sun and Water

I'm in the middle of a long day of flying to meet my beloved at an undisclosed exotic location. My parents are staying with the girls and my sister will be putting in some time as well.

This is the second time that Mr. Quimby and I have left our children at the same time. And, like the first time, this first day away is the worst. I currently feel sick to my stomach, have a huge knot in the place where my heart belongs, and am tearing up on the verge of doing the ugly cry (as Oprah would say). It doesn't help that I got very little sleep last night - even after I got in to bed, it was just too hard to settle down !

I'm trying not to picture their soft warm bodies as they looked when I left them this morning, and I'm trying not to imagine them counting the days until we return, and I certainly can't think about what it will be like to hold them in 5 days time.

But I want this trip for me, I want to do it for my husband, and I want to do it for us. Nothing is bad or wrong, quite the opposite. Our marriage is strong as ever, but even the strongest oak tree will whither if it doesn't get some sunlight and water now and again. Being present to my husband and having time to chat and build shared experiences is like sun and water for our marriage. We just had our 15th anniversary a couple weeks ago, and now we are finally going to be able to celebrate !

And it doesn't hurt that the place we will be will have not only the figurative sun and water of our time and attention for each other, but the literal sun and water, too !

3 comments:

Enjoy the time, dear friend. It is as good for the girls as it is for you. They will appreciate the time and attention you put to your marriage, and they will treasure the special week with grandparents and aunts. Have fun!